The third round of Vision, Values, and Voices conversations (VVV3) is complete. We have come together as a community to discuss our greatest strengths and consider where we need to make progress over the next five years. Each of the sixteen sessions we held with students, faculty, staff, and alumni helped us to develop a 360-degree view of NKU. The next step in the process is to use what we learned to update our Strategic Priorities.
The 2006 Vision, Values, and Voices process suggested many opportunities to rebalance and renew NKU. The sessions affirmed that we are a healthy institution and morale is high. The region is looking to us for leadership. We are in a position to lead the region because we have a good sense of who we are and this gives our Mission further clarity.
The Vision, Values, and Voices sessions were successful because of the willingness and enthusiasm of the many students, faculty, staff, and alumni who shared their views. Acknowledgement and thanks also goes to the members of the Vision, Values, and Voices panel for their hard work and dedicaton. I ask for your continuing engagement as we enter the next phase of our work and begin to make choices based on the priorities you have all helped to shape so well.
Welcome
Welcome to Northern Kentucky University. I hope you have found our website useful and easy to navigate. I have served as NKU’s President since 1997, and I cannot begin to tell you how exciting it is to be part of an organization that is not afraid to dream.
NKU has become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and the Commonwealth. One of the fastest growing schools in Kentucky, NKU enrolls more than 14,000 students. While we have grown into a major metropolitan university, our professors still know our students’ names. With an average class size of just 24 students, NKU is able to offer the kind of personalized attention students receive at private universities for a fraction of the cost.
NKU’s faculty and staff are second to none, and are eager to help each other, our students and our region. Our friendly and supportive campus environment is a hallmark of the Northern experience. That is one of the reasons we were recently named by the Cincinnati Business Courier as one of the Best Places to Work in Cincinnati.
NKU students have access to more than just a great faculty and staff they have access to some of the world’s most sophisticated technology. Our Natural Science Center features equipment that is the most advanced in the nation. NKU students also participate in unique undergraduate research opportunities, working alongside faculty on projects and programs that improve the quality of life in our region. Many of these projects have been widely heralded and have helped make Northern a national model for civic engagement.
One of the major keys to the success of our student body is our commitment to building a diverse population on our campus. Our students are both commuter and dorm residents, traditional and non-traditional, and represent many nationalities, ethnicities, and races. NKU is strengthened by the contributions of the students that we serve and the unique talents and perspectives that they bring to our campus.
I am so proud of our students. About 85 percent of them work at least 20 hours per week. Some work much more. There’s little wonder why I hear from employers across the region that NKU alumni have a work ethic that is second to none. We have about 35,000 alumni who live and work in Greater Cincinnati fulfilling their dreams in a variety of professions.
I thank you for visiting the NKU website and encourage you to take a closer look and see the many ways that Northern Kentucky University remains “Quality-Made and Community Driven.”
Dr. James C. Votruba
President
Northern Kentucky University
